Weasel's Lair's Regulars RSS Feed

Suspending use of HLStats for now

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:42:58 +0000

So, HLStats and/or all of its forks, has become a nightmare to keep working. I really miss the days of a good hosted stats solution, such as the former http://game.me.

Hosting it on the same machine as the game-servers is causing issues - mostly due to HLStats-related database usage.

I may revisit later, when I have the patience.

System Maintenance & Upgrades Today (2026-09-23)

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 21:15:37 +0000

I will be taking all the Weasel's Lair stuff down at various times today to do some maintenance, and apply upgrades for wGASM.

Old Fistful of Frags Pre-Steam "Mod" Event (Long Read)

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:46:23 +0000

Fistful of Frags (FoF) just hit its 12th anniversary on Steam. But, did you know FoF goes back way further than that?

FoF 3.9a Teaser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lKlR7bMzUo

A group of Fistful of Frags enthusiasts have gotten together to have fun little revival for the older pre-Steam "mod" version - just for the fun of it!

This version predates the Steam-native release, dating all the way back to (circa) 2007 (in its earliest incarnations). It was last updated (circa) 2013 - as version 3.9a.

The client for this version was only ever released for Windows. However, with Steam's new "Proton" compatability layer, it is now possible to play it under Linux - likely including SteamOS!

NOTE: While this version is no longer "supported", it is still playable for those interested in its older play-style and alternative modes.

Several global meet-ups are planned for the weekend of Saturday-5/23 to Sunday-5/24, to showcase FoF 3.9a's various game-modes.

To support this event, several server-operators, are hosting Fistulf of Frags 3.9a servers - for at least the next several weeks.

Servers in multiple regions participating will be running specific modes during these scheduled events - to allow players to better experience them (hopefully) with other live players during the meet-ups.

Steam Community Group Event reminders have been setup for each planned event. If you go to each event's link, it should display the date/time in your local time-zone. For your convenience, local times based on Las Vegas, Nevada (US/Pacific time-zone) are also noted below:

FoF 3.9a: Gun Game + Deathmatch
Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 4 AM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474542
FoF 3.9a: Fistful of dollars + Push the cart
Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 8 AM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474543
FoF 3.9a: Coop mode
Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 12 PM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474544
FoF 3.9a: Gun Game + Deathmatch
Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 7 PM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474545
FoF 3.9a: Few Dollars More + Capture the flag
Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 4 AM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474546
FoF 3.9a: Zombies mode + Fistfight
Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 8 AM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474548
FoF 3.9a: Gun Game + Deathmatch
Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 12 PM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474549
FoF 3.9a: Few Dollars More + Capture the flag
Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 7 PM (Las Vegas, Nevada time)
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/WeaselsLair/events/679624547358474550

All this information is being advertised now, to allow interested players time to install the FoF 3.9a client, and troubleshoot if needed - well in advance of the scheduled meet-ups. The installation process is a bit more complicated than installing the current Steam-native Fistful of Frags client.

For players that want to check-out this older version of Fistful of Frags, you will need to install some extra stuff in Steam and then install the older "mod" version. To assist with this, a couple of Steam Guides have been created - one for Windows and one for Linux / Proton. These are available here:

Installing FoF 3.9a on Windows: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3702295365
Installing FoF 3.9a on Linux / Proton:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3702364317

Testing Counter-Strike 2 Server

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 02:43:37 +0000

Server: "[WL] Boomer-Strike 2"

Game:
Steam Store = Counter-Strike 2
Retail = Free-To-Play (microtransactions for various cosmetics, etc.)

IP Address:

162.248.88.40:6351

NOTE: Emphasis on the port number: 6351

Connect via Steam url:

steam://connect/162.248.88.40:6351

Location:
North America, Central US / Chicago area.

Hosting:
Hosted on http://nfoservers.com, with their responsive anti-DoS support.

Settings & Modifications:

Custom CS1-asthetic maps (see below)
Swiftly S2[swiftlys2.net] (for administration / moderation, etc.)
SourceBans[sourcebans.weaselslair.com] for banning greifers and cheaters.
HLStats[hlstats.weaselslair.com[] for player stats/ranks.
Increased start-money!

Maps: This server only these workshop maps that feature a CS1-asthetic:

Server Changes

[WL] Mecha-Weasel — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 03:07:18 +0000

Some server changes that are up-coming or already in-progress. Not all of these will result in visible changes, but maybe some unannounced down-time. These will changes will take place sometime over the next week.

Changes being planned or considered, include:

HLStats[hlstats.weaselslair.com]: Changing the order of things, and bot-handling.
SourceBans[sourcebans.weaselslair.com]: Changing the order of things.
TF2: Reinstanting dedicated "Orange" server (on its original port 6301).
TF2: Converting "Orange/Mini-Fig" server back to just "Mini-Fig" (Lego-themed maps)
TF2: Possibly introducing a 4th server for "Mach" and maybe some other classic maps.
CS2: Likely shelve this idea for now, since there does not appear to be much demand/interest. However, I may still tinker with in from time-to-time.
FoF: Maybe retire the Team-Play / "Cowboy-Strike" server for now. It almost never gets any play. There are also other FoF Team-Play servers out there serving that niche very well.
All game-servers: Cleaning-up and standardizing config files, testing, restarts, etc.

Counter-Strike 2 server?

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:17:31 +0000

Now that easier server-side administrative mods/tools are now available for it, I have been tinkering-around again with setting up a Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) dedicated game-server.

But, I am nor sure if it is worth the effort, and resources to host it?

I am unsure how much folks here even play CS2?

I have lost touch with many former regulars, so I am not sure what games folks play often - beyond Fistful ofFrags for the most recent generation of group members, and Team Fortress 2 for the O.G.s.

If i get something setup for CS2, it will probably have features like this:

It will run a server-side modification system named Swiftly S2[github.com]. Think of this as the equivalent to SourceMod[www.sourcemod.net], but for the Source 2 game-engine.
Various plug-ins for Swiftly S2[github.com] ("map chooser", etc.).
Inclusion in our existing SourceBans[sourcebans.weaselslair.com] system.
Inclusion in our existing HLStats[hlstats.weaselslair.com] system.
Default map rotation will probably classic CS1-style maps.
Will probably call it something like "Boomer-Strike 2".

Direct-message me on Steam Friends or in the Group Chat for the Weasel's Lair's Regulars Steam Community group, and let me know your thoughts?

HLStats, Donations, etc.

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:21:36 +0000

Stats / rankings are back!

Weasel's Lair has been without cross-server player statistics / ranking ever since GameMe.com went-offline some time circa 2024. We are glad to announce that since there has been an updated version of HLStats published, I have re-implemented HLStats (specificaly a recent fork of HLStatsX:CE). This is basically the system that was used before we switched to GameMe.com some years ago.

The link to access HLStats in a web-browser is:
http://HLStats.WeaselsLair.com

Donation methods:

Since somebody happened to ask today, we do have currently have two different donation methods available.

Donation method #1: NFO Servers

You can donate directly to the Weasel's Lair account at our hosting provider (NFO Servers). Although not the only expense involved in keeping Weasels Lair online, hosting is certainly the largest - at about US$40/month (or about US$480/year). This system allows for one-time donations of any amount.

This link donates (via credit-card or Pay-Pal) directly to our NFO Servers hosting account:
https://www.nfoservers.com/donate.pl?force_recipient=1&recipient=weasel.steamid.155%2Bnfo%40gmail.com
Donation method #2: "Buy me a coffee"

In addition, we have an account setup at the tipping web-site "Buy me a coffee". That system allows for donations in increments of US$3. and they may be one-time (the default), or recurring.

The link to our "Buy me a coffee" page is:
https://buymeacoffee.com/weaselslair

New "HGrunt -vs- Recon" (Team-Deathmatch) HLDM:S server

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 18:28:47 +0000

I have a new HLDM:S server up and running. At a high-level, it's features include:

Includes a port of the map "gasworks" in it's map rotation (about half of its rotation).
Operates in "team-deathmatch" mode.
The two teams are HGrunt and Recon.
Only "conventional weapons" are enabled.
Weird or alient weapons (guass, egon, hive-hand, etc.) are disabled.
Various custom music, sounds, etc.
You can disable hearing the scheduled music using !soundoff in the chat.
Includes a "jet-pack" plugin, setup to allow 10-seconds of use every 15-minutes.
No bots at this time. I have yet to find a bot modification that works well with HLDM:S . Let me know if you have one. I have tried last build of Hurricane Bot. It does not seem to know how to apply models properly in team-play.

More details are available in the Steam Community post ...
HLDM:S "HGrunt -vs- Recon" (Team-Deathmatch) server details[/url

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3670775604

Testng Discord alternative: "Root" app (https://RootApp.com)

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 23:28:19 +0000

UPDATE: Giving up on "Root" (app) for now. Limited functionality and questionable privacy policy.

@everyone I am looking into a Discord alternative known as Root[rootapp.com].

It has native apps for:

Windows (Intel/AMD processor)
Windows (Arm processor)
Linux (Intel/AMD processor)
Linux (Arm processor)
MacOS (Apple processor)
MacOS (Intel processor)
Android
iOS (iPhone / iPad)

Apparently, there is no web-interface at this time (unlike Discord).

Here is the invite to the test Weasel's Lair community on Root[rootapp.com] ... https://rootapp.gg/ACz62pmfiAqft40ydCQCkQ

Update regarding Discord

[WL] Weasel (Asynchronous) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 04:13:38 +0000

FYI: If Discord prompts me to scan my ID or take a selfie pic to continue to use it, I will be deleting my account and "server" from Discord, and rolling-back to Steam Friends for Chat. Also, reachable via e-mail: Weasel@WeaselsLair.com.